STRESS IN BACCALAUREATE NURSING STUDENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CLASSROOM AND CLINICAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES (STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY).
Contributors: University of Kansas.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 172
Subjects: Education, Curriculum and Instruction.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: In our society there is a great deal of concern about stress. A variety of factors both general and specific will induce stress. Verbal and written comments from nursing students in one course seemed to indicate that they were experiencing a great deal of stress related to the classroom and clinical laboratory learning experiences.

The major purpose of this study was to determine the amount of stress experienced by professional nursing students. A second purpose was to determine whether the stress experienced by students as a group was related to a particular course or to the developmental level of the student at a particular point in the program of studies. The third purpose was to compare stress levels of students in a regular and accelerated sequence of courses.

The study was conducted in the school of nursing at a midwestern university. Subjects who consented to participate in the study were enrolled in one of the four upper division nursing courses. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered and the mean stress levels computed. A total of 247 State and 220 Trait Anxiety Inventories were completed. Five hypotheses were tested to determine significant differences in mean stress scores, using one and two way analysis of variance. There was no significant difference (p < .05) in the mean state stress scores. There was only one area of significant difference--0.003 (p < .05) in the mean trait stress scores. The significant difference was at the junior level.

Additional data was obtained using a naturalistic method of inquiry. Results on the content analysis of stress and stressors indicate that nursing students in this population were generally stressed.

Findings in the study indicate that almost all students in the population experience similar levels of stress. It is proposed that curricular changes and new teaching strategies be considered as viable means for assisting students in managing and reducing their levels of stress.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06, Section: A, page: 2000.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, 1986.

School code: 0099.